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Sep 26, 2015 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Sustained economic growth: United Nations mistake the poison for the cure

Below is my recent article in The Conversation: On the surface, the Sustainable Development Goals, soon to be confirmed by the United Nations, seem noble and progressive. They seek to free the human race from the tyranny of poverty and hunger while creating sustainable and resilient societies. But look beneath the surface of this pleasant rhetoric and one comes face to face with a far more ominous vision... read more

Aug 11, 2015 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Introduction to “Sufficiency Economy”

Below I have posted the introduction to my new book of collected essays, Sufficiency Economy: Enough, for Everyone, Forever. This is the companion volume to Prosperous Descent: Crisis as Opportunity in an Age of Limits, published earlier this year. The paperback of Sufficiency Economy is available here. For those unable to pay or who would like an electronic version, the pdf is available on a ‘pay... read more

Aug 9, 2015 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Sufficiency Economy: Enough, for Everyone, Forever

I’ve just published my second book of collected essays, Sufficiency Economy: Enough, for Everyone, Forever. This is the companion volume to Prosperous Descent: Crisis as Opportunity in an Age of Limits, published earlier in the year. The paperback of Sufficiency Economy is available here. Your support is greatly appreciated. For those unable to pay, the pdf is available on a ‘pay what you... read more

May 18, 2015 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Prosperous Descent: Crisis as Opportunity in an Age of Limits

I’ve just published a new book, Prosperous Descent: Crisis as Opportunity in an Age of Limits, which is the first volume of my collected essays to be published this year. The cover and endorsements are posted below. A second book of collected essays, Sufficiency Economy: Enough, for Everyone, Forever, will be published in a couple of months. The paperback of Prosperous Descent is available here.... read more

Apr 23, 2015 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Degrowth, sustainability, and tackling global inequalities

Recently I was interviewed by Jen Wilton, a UK journalist and researcher, on the subject of degrowth. What follows is the transcript of our phone interview, originally posted here. Degrowth, sustainability, and tackling global inequalities Q: What would a degrowth society look like? SA: A lot of mainstream environmentalism still clings to the idea that we can dematerialise our ways of living without... read more

Feb 24, 2015 Posted by Samuel Alexander

The Paradox of Oil: The Cheaper it Is, the More it Costs

I’ve just published a new Simplicity Institute Report, ‘The Paradox of Oil: The Cheaper it Is, the More it Costs’. I’ve posted the introduction below and the full paper is available here. There will be oil, but at what price? – Chris Nelder and Gregor Macdonald THE PARADOX OF OIL: THE CHEAPER IT IS, THE MORE IT COSTS 1. Introduction It would be fair to say that the timing of the... read more

Feb 5, 2015 Posted by Samuel Alexander

The Steady State Economy and the Incompatibility of Capitalism, by Geoff Mosley

The following text is a transcript (with minor revisions) of a talk Geoff Mosley gave at the 2014 Fenner Conference on the Steady State Economy at the University of NSW. Geoff is the Australian Director of the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy. Thanks to Geoff for granting permission to reproduce his talk. ____________ A MESSAGE FROM THE FUTURE: THE STEADY STATE ECONOMY AND THE... read more

Oct 3, 2014 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Life in a ‘degrowth’ economy, and why you might actually enjoy it

Yesterday my article “Life in a ‘degrowth’ economy, and why you might actually like it” was published in The Conversation. I’ve reposted it below: What does genuine economic progress look like? The orthodox answer is that a bigger economy is always better, but this idea is increasingly strained by the knowledge that, on a finite planet, the economy can’t grow for ever. This... read more

Oct 1, 2014 Posted by Samuel Alexander

The Divestment Movement

Below I’ve posted the introduction to a new MSSI Issues paper, “Fossil Free: The Development and Significance of the Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement“, which I co-authored with Kara Nicholson and John Wiseman. As the probability and risks of catastrophic climate change continue to increase (Potsdam, 2012; Christoff, 2013), fossil fuel divestment has become an increasingly important... read more

Sep 25, 2014 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Transcript of book launch talk – ‘Pioneers of the Deep Future’

Below I’ve posted the transcript of the talk I gave last night at the book launch of Simple Living in History: Pioneers of the Deep Future. Thanks so much to everyone who came. It was heartening to see so much interest in the book. PIONEERS OF THE DEEP FUTURE Good evening everyone. Thanks very much for coming tonight. It’s very good to be able to share this occasion with you. I’m not going to... read more

Invitation / Incitation

The Simplicity Collective is founded upon the idea that a 'simpler life' of reduced resource and energy consumption is a viable and desirable alternative to consumer culture.

Our position is that simple living will improve not only our own lives, but the lives of others, as well as help save our planet from the environmental catastrophe towards which we are so enthusiastically marching.

We must not just fall in line, then, and continue the march ‘business as usual.’ We must explore alternative ways to live. We must experiment creatively, like the artist. We must be the poets of our own lives and of a new generation.